Content
Planting honeysuckle in the fall often turns out to be more profitable than in the spring; with the onset of the new season, the plant does not waste energy on rooting, but can immediately begin active growth. But the gardener needs to know the rules of autumn planting so that it goes smoothly and without complications.
Is it possible to plant honeysuckle in the fall?
For many fruit trees and shrubs, spring planting is preferable, in which the plant is guaranteed to have time to take root properly in the ground before the end of the season. However, honeysuckle remains an exception; it can be planted both in spring and autumn.
In this case, the type of root system of the seedling is not particularly important. If honeysuckle is sold in a container, then planting in the fall does not pose any threat to it - the roots of the plant are completely healthy and undamaged, they can quickly take root in the ground. If the system is open, then autumn planting in September and even October will also not result in harm. The main thing is to root the shrub before frost sets in.But as long as positive temperatures remain, honeysuckle can be planted even after the first snow.
Autumn planting has many advantages.
The main advantage of autumn planting honeysuckle is that with the onset of spring next year, the shrub immediately begins to actively develop. It does not need to spend time developing the root system; accordingly, it can freely grow green mass, form a silhouette and bloom.
When to plant honeysuckle in the fall
On average, it is recommended to plant a plant in the fall 3 weeks before the onset of real cold weather; this time is enough for honeysuckle to take root on the site. But the specific timing of planting honeysuckle in the fall is determined by the growing region and may differ for different areas:
- In the southern regions of Russia, winter comes late and usually remains quite mild. Therefore, planting can be carried out from mid-October until the 20th of November; even during this period the weather will still be favorable for gardening work.
- In the Moscow region, the optimal time for planting honeysuckle in the fall is considered to be mid-September or early October, until about the 10th. By November, frosts usually set in in the middle zone, so it is important not to be late in planting shrubs.
- In the Urals and Siberia, the planting of honeysuckle must be completed before the beginning of October. Winter comes early in these regions and quickly brings with it severe cold.
In the Leningrad region, it is also better to plant shrubs in September, so that the first frosts do not destroy the young plant.
How to plant honeysuckle correctly in the fall
The autumn period remains a difficult time for planting, even when it comes to cold-resistant plants.Therefore, it is especially important to choose the right place for honeysuckle in the fall and fully follow the planting procedure.
Planting times differ for regions, but in general it can be carried out until frost
Where is the best place to plant honeysuckle in the fall?
The fruit bush is considered quite unpretentious for growing, but certain requirements still need to be met:
- Adequate sunlight is necessary for healthy development of honeysuckle. Therefore, you need to plant shrubs in an open area of the garden, where good natural light is maintained at any time of the year.
- It should be taken into account that the plant does not like drafts and strong gusts of wind. It is advisable for honeysuckle to grow close to natural cover, for example, near a high fence, the wall of a house or next to taller trees.
- Honeysuckle loves moisture, but does not tolerate its excess. Planting edible honeysuckle in the fall should be done in an area located away from groundwater; it should lie no closer than 1.5 m to the surface of the earth.
Soils for shrubs are best suited to sandy or loamy soils, with good drainage and access to oxygen. Honeysuckle prefers to grow on neutral or low-acid soil; soils with high acidity are not suitable for it.
You can plant the plant even in lowlands if you arrange good drainage in the soil
Preparing the landing site
It is necessary to prepare in advance for planting honeysuckle in the fall:
- About 30 days before planting the plant in the ground, the soil in the selected area is carefully dug up and a hole about 30 cm deep and up to 50 cm wide is prepared.
- If the soil is too wet, sand, expanded clay or pebbles are added to the bottom of the hole to ensure good drainage for the shrub. Too light soils can be supplemented with peat or loamy soil - up to 5 kg per meter. If the soil is highly acidic, you can also add 200-300 g of fluff lime or chalk.
- After creating a planting hole, the soil extracted from the ground is mixed with 2 buckets of compost or humus, and about 500 g of wood ash and 100 g of superphosphate are added. The mixture is poured into the hole and watered properly so that the nutrients are better distributed in the soil.
The rules for planting honeysuckle in the fall state that when planting several shrubs on a plot at once, you need to leave a free space of 1.5-2 m between the holes. If you plant the bushes too close, they will block each other's light as they grow and compete for nutrients and moisture .
In order for the bushes to begin to bear fruit, several different varieties of shrubs with the same flowering periods should be planted in close proximity to each other.
To improve the composition of the soil, a pit for bushes is prepared in advance
As for the neighborhood with other fruit trees and bushes, honeysuckle gets along best with cherries, plums, apples and pears. But it is better not to plant the bush next to the apricot - the roots of the apricot tree are too powerful, they will inevitably take away nutrients and moisture from the honeysuckle.
How to plant honeysuckle seedlings in the fall
To successfully plant honeysuckle in the fall, first of all, you need to choose high-quality planting material. When choosing a seedling, you need to pay attention to several criteria:
- age - a plant should be taken from a nursery no older than 2-3 years;
- appearance - a good seedling should have a strong trunk and several young side shoots;
- health of buds and leaf blades - you only need to buy a plant with green, clean, fresh leaves and strong buds.
When purchasing a seedling, it is advisable to evaluate how strong and healthy its roots are. That is why it is recommended to purchase plants with an open root system; in this case, it is easier for the gardener to understand the condition of the seedling.
The algorithm for planting honeysuckle on a site in the fall is very simple. In the video of planting edible honeysuckle in the fall on a selected day, they suggest soaking the roots of the plant in water for a couple of hours so that they have time to become saturated with moisture. Taking into account the peculiarities of autumn planting, a growth stimulator can be added to the water, this will further speed up the rooting process.
Immediately before planting the seedling in the fall, a small depression is made in the center of the prepared hole. After this, the seedling is carefully lowered into the soil, making sure that its roots lie evenly and do not break or bend. The hole is filled with the remains of the prepared nutrient soil level with the ground, lightly compacting the soil so that it does not fall through after the first watering. Immediately after planting, make a small earthen roller along the edges of the hole and water the seedling generously with a bucket of water; the roller will not allow the moisture to spread.
Immediately after planting, the seedling is watered properly
Then the wet soil is mulched with sawdust, straw or peat - the thickness of the layer should be about 7 cm. The mulch layer will prevent the evaporation of moisture from the soil and will also insulate the root system of the plant in the fall.
Caring for honeysuckle after planting in autumn
After successful planting of the seedling, there should be about a month left before the onset of cold weather. During this period, it is important to pay attention to proper care of the plant in order to speed up the rooting process.
It consists of the following actions:
- If autumn is dry and warm enough, then the young plant should be watered once a week until cold weather arrives. It is especially important for the seedling to receive a sufficient amount of moisture before the onset of winter, so it will not only take root faster, but will also not freeze in frozen soil until spring.
- Before the onset of cold weather after planting, you need to loosen the soil in the tree trunk circle twice or three times for better access to oxygen. This must be done carefully - the root system of honeysuckle is superficial, and if loosened too deeply, there is a risk of damaging the roots of the young shrub.
- There is no need to feed a honeysuckle bush planted in the fall; the nutrients added during planting will last for another year.
- Before the onset of winter, you need to take care of cleaning the area where honeysuckle is planted. Before the arrival of frost, it is recommended to rake all fallen leaves of other trees and shrubs from the soil, collect broken dry branches and fruits lying on the ground.It is best to burn plant debris in a distant part of the garden; under a layer of leaves and branches, pests and fungal spores like to overwinter, which can damage the honeysuckle seedling.
- It is better not to prune honeysuckle after planting in the fall, but to postpone it until the next season. All the plant's energy should go not to recovery after cutting, but to growing roots. In addition, young seedlings in the first year of life simply do not need heavy pruning; they do not yet have time to accumulate a large number of extra shoots.
For the first time, you need to prune the bush only next year.
Despite the fact that with proper planting, cold-resistant honeysuckle will have time to take root in the soil before frost, it will still need to be insulated for the winter.
First of all, before the onset of winter, you need to mulch the plant again with a layer of 10 cm; dense mulch will keep the roots warm and retain moisture in the soil. Despite the fact that honeysuckle can tolerate temperatures down to -35 C° without special shelter, in the first winter after planting it should be carefully insulated with coniferous spruce branches. Young plants are more susceptible to frost than mature bushes.
If planting in the fall was carried out according to all the rules and without violations, then already in the second year you can expect the first juicy fruits from honeysuckle. But the bush will still enter the period of maximum fruiting only in its fifth year of life.
Conclusion
Planting honeysuckle in the fall is not only possible, it is often more profitable than planting in the spring. The fruit plant is characterized by very high frost resistance and ease of cultivation. Therefore, if the deadlines for autumn planting are observed on the site, honeysuckle will take root without problems.
